Shape-recovering material suitable for application of an attachment, and its use

ABSTRACT

A structure includes a hollow tubular first body made of a shape-recovering polymeric material having a first region in the recovered state, and a second region in the expanded state. A second body including an element of a fastener, such as a hook-and-loop fastener, is affixed to the first region of the first body with an adhesive joint. The first body is desirably in the form of a hollow tube that encloses a wire bundle or other enclosed body. The structure may also include a support, and a second element of the hook-and-loop fastener affixed to the support. The first element of the hook-and-loop fastener is engaged to the second element of the hook-and-loop fastener.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a divisional patent application and claimsthe benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/014,005, filed onDec. 10, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference.

This invention relates to shape-recovering material, especially in atubular form, and, more particularly, to shape-recovering materialsuitable for use in fastening two articles together.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Shape-recovering material, sometimes also called heat-shrinkablematerial, is widely used in marking and packaging applications. Aworking definition used herein is that the shape-recovering material isa polymer having materials properties described by a recovered state andan expanded state which contracts toward the recovered state uponheating. The structure and functionality of shape-recovering materialare well known in the art for a number of applications, see for example,U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,600.

When the shape-recovering material is provided in tubular form, it istypically structured to contract to or toward a specified size in therecovered state. In its initial manufacturing, the shape-recoveringmaterial is extruded in a particular shape and size, expanded to theexpanded state, and thereafter cooled so that the expanded state isretained. When it is to be applied in service, the expanded and cooledmaterial is placed overlying a body to be enclosed, and then againheated so that it contracts back toward the recovered state, therebyenclosing the body in a polymeric covering.

In some applications, a tube of the shape-recovering material in theexpanded state is placed over a wire bundle and thereafter heated tocontract it to the recovered state. The enclosed wire bundle issupported from adjacent structure with appropriate clamps or fixturesspaced along its length. This arrangement is often used in aircraftwiring harnesses to hold the multiple wires in an orderly arrangementand facilitate their support from bulkheads and the like.

However, it is sometimes found in service that the intermediate portionof the enclosed wire bundle, positioned between the neighboring clampsor fixtures, flexes, rattles, vibrates, or swings freely, risking damageto the wire bundle or to the adjacent structure. It has been proposed toaffix the enclosed wire bundle to the adjacent structure at intermediatelocations using a fastener including an adhesive link. However, such atechnique is not practical for many situations because it requires thatthe enclosed wire bundle be held in place until the adhesive cures,either manually by the wiring installer or with clamps that aredifficult to apply.

There is a need for an approach for providing such a support that issecure, light in weight, and readily utilized. The present inventionfulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a structure including a first body madein part of a shape-recovering material. The shape-recovering material isprocessed so as to facilitate attachment of a second body to the firstbody. The second body may include, for example, a portion of a fastener,a preprinted label, or the like. This structure facilitates theattachment of various articles to each other. In an application ofinterest, the first body is a tube of the shape-recovering material, andthe second body includes a first element of a fastener such as ahook-and-loop fastener. The tube of the shape-recovering material isplaced over an enclosed body, and the fastener is used to hold theenclosed body to adjacent structure. This approach is reliable andreadily implemented in applications such as the attachment of aircraftor automotive wiring harnesses. The preferred application is in suchattachment structures, but it will be appreciated that the presentapproach is more widely applicable to attach a second body to a piece ofshape-recovering material.

In accordance with the invention, a structure comprises a first bodymade of a shape-recovering polymeric material having materialsproperties described by a recovered state and an expanded state whichcontracts toward the recovered state upon heating. Typically, theshape-recovering polymeric material has a contraction ratio between theexpanded state and the recovered state of at least about 2:1, in manycases at least about 4:1, and normally from about 2:1 to about 6:1.Examples of the shape-recovering polymeric material include polyolefins,polyvinylidene fluoride, polychloroprene, polyvinyl chloride,polyethylene terephthalate, silicone rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene,fluorinated ethylene propylene, and ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene. In oneapplication, the first body is a hollow tube. The hollow tube overliesan enclosed body, such as a wire or a wire bundle.

The first body has a first region in the recovered state, and a secondregion in the expanded state. A second body is affixed to the firstregion of the first body, preferably by an adhesive joint. The secondbody may be a portion of a fastener. Desirably, the second bodycomprises at least a first element of a hook-and-loop fastener.

In one approach of interest, the second body comprises a first elementof a hook-and-loop fastener. The structure further includes a support,and a second element of the hook-and-loop fastener affixed to thesupport. The first element of the hook-and-loop fastener is engaged tothe second element of the hook-and-loop fastener. The first body ispreferably a hollow tube overlying the enclosed body.

With this approach, the first body is fabricated as a hollow tube withthe fastener element of the second body affixed with an adhesive to thefirst region of the hollow tube. This article, including the hollow tubeand the fastener element, is fabricated prior to placing the hollow tubeover the enclosed body. Thus, it may be fabricated on an assembly lineand under controlled conditions to ensure good quality andreproducibility. When it is time for installation, the hollow tube isslipped over the enclosed article, and the second region heated torecover the second region and constrict the hollow tube snugly over theenclosed body. Meanwhile, the second element of the fastener, such asthe hook-and-loop fastener, is affixed to the support by any convenientapproach. The first element and the second element of the fastener arebrought into contact to secure the two elements together, and thencesecure the enclosed body to the support.

The shape-recovering material typically contracts from the expandedstate to the recovered state by a linear ratio of 2:1 or more whenheated. If the second body, which has a substantially constant lineardimension, were affixed to a portion of the first body prior to itsbeing contracted to the recovered state (i.e., while in the expandedstate), the contraction of the shape-recovering material during recoverywould tend to debond the adhesive and cause the second body to separatefrom the first body. The constraint of the contraction of the first bodywould also distort the contraction and reduce the snugness of the fit ofthe first body on the enclosed body.

With the present approach, on the other hand, the first region ispreshrunk to the recovered state. The second body is thereafter affixed,preferably by an adhesive layer, to the first region of the first body.There is very little or no further contraction of the first region whenthe first body is heated to contract the second region to the recoveredstate, so that the joint between the first region of the first body andthe second body is not distorted. The result is that the second body issecurely affixed to the first body in a controlled, reliable manner. Asdescribed, the second body is a fastener element in one preferredembodiment, but the second body may be any other item that is to besecurely fastened to the shape-recovering material of the first body.Examples include preprinted labels or diagrams, and magnets. The firstbody is described as a wiring harness in the preferred embodiments, butit may be any object.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparentfrom the following more detailed description of the preferredembodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whichillustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention. Thescope of the invention is not, however, limited to this preferredembodiment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a supported wiring harness;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view through the wiring harness of FIG. 1, takenon line 2-2;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a structure according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the structure of FIG. 3, taken on line4-4;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the structure ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of a second element of the fastener;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of a supported wiring harness according tothe invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the wiring harness of FIG. 7, taken online 8-8;

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of another embodiment of theattachment structure;

FIG. 10 is a schematic sectional view, with the elements separated forclarity of illustration, of yet another embodiment of the attachmentstructure; and

FIG. 11 is a block flow diagram of a method for practicing theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts a conventional wiring harness 20 supported from clamps22. FIG. 2 shows the construction of the wiring harness 20, having abundle of electrical wires 24 (or other elongated wires or opticalfibers) enclosed within a tube 26 of shape-recovering polymericmaterial. The shape-recovering polymeric material provides a convenientapproach to holding the wires 24 in a tightly grouped, compact bundlethat is easier to work with in wiring harness applications than a numberof separate wires. The clamps 22 are spaced apart along the length ofthe wiring harness 20. At intermediate locations 28 of the wiringharness 20 between the clamps 22, the wiring harness 20 may rattle,vibrate, or swing about in a manner that may cause damage to the wiringharness itself or to adjacent objects. A preferred application of thepresent invention reduces the incidence of such potential damage.

FIG. 3 illustrates an attachment structure 29 including first body 30,preferably in the form of a hollow tube 32. The hollow tube 32 is madeof a shape-recovering polymeric material having materials propertiesdescribed by a recovered state and an expanded state which contractstoward the recovered state upon heating. Such shape-recovering materialsare known in the art and are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No.6,015,600 and MILSPEC MIL-DTL-23053, whose disclosures are incorporatedby reference. Such polymeric materials are well known in the art forother applications, but not for the present application, and aresometimes called “heat-shrinkable tubing” or “shrink tubing”. Examplesof operable materials include polyolefins, polyvinylidene fluoride,polychloroprene, polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene terephthalate,silicone rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorinated ethylenepropylene, and ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene, but use of the invention isnot limited to these materials. The present invention is operable withall such shape-recovering polymeric materials.

The first body 30 has a first region 34 with the shape-recoveringpolymeric material in the recovered state, and a second region 36 withthe shape-recovering polymeric material in the expanded state.

A second body 38 is affixed to the first region 34 of the first body 30.The second body 38 may be shorter in length than the first region 34, asillustrated, or it may be of the same length as the first region 34. Theaffixing is accomplished by any operable approach. FIG. 4 illustratesthe preferred manner of affixing the second body 38 to the first region34 of the first body 30. An adhesive layer forms a joint 40 between thesecond body 38 and the first region 34 of the first body 30. FIG. 5 isanother embodiment of this approach, wherein a heat shield 42 in theform of a thin piece of foil or aluminized plastic is removablypositioned over the second body for reasons to be discussedsubsequently.

The second body 38 preferably comprises at least one part of a fastener,and most preferably comprises an element of a hook-and-loop fastener.“Hook-and-loop fasteners” are known in the art and are described, forexample in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,009,235; 3,130,111; 3,387,345; and 5,369,853Hook-and-loop fasteners are often commonly known by their trademarkedname Velcrom. The hook-and-loop fastener includes two elements, the“hook” element and the “loop” element. When contacted together these twoelements engage each other to provide a temporary attachment between thetwo elements, and thence between any objects to which they are attached.

For attachment applications, there may be provided a second fastenerelement initially separate from the first body 30. FIG. 6 depicts asecond element 44 as the second element of the hook-and-loop fastener.The second element 44 is conveniently provided with means for attachingit to a support. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the second element 44 hasan adhesive layer 46 of a suitable adhesive, such as apressure-sensitive adhesive or a more-permanent adhesive, applied to aback side of the second element 44 remote from the hook or loopstructure. A peel-off backing 48 overlies the adhesive layer 46. Toapply the second element 44 to a support, the peel-off backing 48 isremoved and the adhesive layer 46 is pressed against the support withthe second element 44 facing outwardly.

FIG. 7 illustrates the manner of attaching the wiring harness 20 to asupport 50 at a location between the clamps 22, thereby reducing thetendency of the wiring harness 20 to flex, rattle, vibrate, or swingfreely. FIG. 8 is a sectional view through the attached structure. Thehollow tube 32 of the first body 30, with the second body 38 affixed tothe first region 34 of the first body 30, is slipped over the wiringharness 20. The hollow tube 32 may be a portion of the length of thetube 26 shown in FIG. 2 (as in FIG. 8), or it may be a separate hollowtube that is slipped over the tube 26 (as in FIG. 9). The second element44 is affixed to the support 50 by any operable approach, such as thatdiscussed above in relation to FIG. 6. The second body 38, which in thiscase is either the hook element or the loop element of the hook-and-loopfastener, is engaged to the second element 44, which is the otherelement of the hook-and-loop fastener.

The second body 38 may take any operable form. An embodiment shown inFIG. 9 is suitable for use when the support 50 is a pipe, strut, orother structure wherein the second body 38 may be wrapped around orthreaded through the support 50. The second body 38 is an elongatedstrip of flexible material such as a fabric or a flexible polymer. Thefirst element of the hook-and-loop fastener is a first patch 52 appliedto the second body 38. The second element of the hook-and-loop fasteneris a second patch 54 applied to a different area of the second body 38.The patches 52 and 54 are positioned so that they are in a facingrelationship when the second body 38 is wrapped around the support 50.Optionally, the second body 38 may be made of a shape-recoveringpolymeric material like that discussed above, initially in the expandedstate, so that upon heating the second body 38 contracts to therecovered state to draw the first body 30 tightly against the support50. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the first body 30 is slipped over thetube 26, so that they are separate elements.

FIG. 10 depicts another embodiment wherein the wiring harness 20 is heldwithin a “P”-clamp 60 comprising an annular rubber clamp body 62 and ametallic clamp attachment 64 extending from the clamp body 62. P-clamps60 are known in the art, except for the improvements discussed herein.The clamp 22 of FIG. 1 could be such a P-clamp 60, for example. Oneproblem with the use of conventional P-clamps for holding wiringharnesses is that the ability of the clamp to hold the harness in thecorrect lengthwise position is determined by how tightly the clampattachments 64 are forced together. If insufficient clamping pressure isused, the wiring harness can slide lengthwise (perpendicular to theplane of the illustration of FIG. 10, which is the direction extendingbetween the clamps 22 in FIG. 1). If too much clamping pressure is used,the wiring harness may be damaged. The present approach avoids theseproblems.

In the illustration of FIG. 10, elements common to the precedingdescription are given the same numbering here, and the prior descriptionis incorporated here. The wiring harness 20 has the second body 38exteriorly attached, as previously described. The clamp body 62 has thesecond element 44 attached to its inner periphery. The second body 38 ispreferably one element of the hook-and-loop fastener, and the secondelement 44 is preferably the other element of the hook-and-loopfastener. The second body 38 and the second element 44 have beenseparated slightly from each other for clarity of illustration, butwould be engaged to each other in practice. This arrangement allows thewiring harness 20 to be securely affixed to the clamp 60 at a selectedlocation along the length of the wiring harness 20 without excessivetightening of the clamp 60 and without the wiring harness 20 slippinglengthwise through the clamp body 62.

The preferred embodiments described herein provide for an attachmentstructure, but the present approach is not so limited. Any other objectsof interest may be attached as the second body 38 to the first body 30by the present approach. Examples include preprinted labels or drawings,magnets, and the like. In each case, if the second body 38 were attachedto the shape-recovering polymeric material prior to its being recovered,it would tend to debond from the first body and pop off. The presentapproach avoids such a result.

FIG. 11 depicts a preferred method for practicing the invention, andsimilar approaches are used for other embodiments. The attachmentstructure 29 of FIG. 3 is first fabricated, numeral 70. Theshape-recovering material described above is provided, numeral 72, andformed into a tube or other operable shape, numeral 74. The forming step74 is preferably accomplished by extrusion.

The tube is heated to the temperature at which it is normally expandedfor the selected material of the tube, and circumferentially expanded tostretch the material of the tube to its expanded state, numeral 76. Theexpansion is preferably performed by internal air pressure within thetube, and results in uniform circumferential expansion of the tube.Equivalently, the shape-recovering material may be expanded by othermechanical techniques. The tube is cooled to room temperature, numeral78, while the internal pressure is maintained, “freezing in” theexpanded state of the expanded tube. The first region 34, but not thesecond region 36, is thereafter heated, for example by passing a heatedshoe along the length of the tube, to cause the first region 34 tocontract and shrink back to the recovered state, numeral 80. The secondregion 36 is not heated, and is left in its expanded state. The recoveryof the first region 34 leaves it with a significantly larger wallthickness than the second region 36, so that the first region 34 may beeasily recognized visually.

The second body 38 is provided, numeral 82. The second body 38preferably comprises one of the elements of the hook-and-loop fastener.The second body 38 is adhesively affixed to the first region 34 of thefirst body 30, numeral 84, to complete the fabrication of the attachmentstructure 29.

The hollow tube 32 of the attachment structure 29 is thereafter slippedover the body to be enclosed and attached, numeral 86, in this casedirectly over the wire or wires 24, or over a preexisting wiring harness20 and its tube 26. The second region 36 of the first body 30 isthereafter heated, numeral 88, to cause it to contact to the recoveredstate and snugly enclose the enclosed body. It is typically not possiblein a production setting to heat only the first region 36, and usuallythere is some heating of the second region 34 at the same time. The heatshield 42, shown in FIG. 5, may be provided to prevent overheating ofthe second body 38 and particularly the element of the hook-and-loopstructure that is found on the second body 38, to a temperature aboveits maximum allowable temperature. After the heating 88 is complete, theheat shield 42 is stripped away to expose the protected element of thehook-and-loop structure.

Meanwhile, the second element 44 is provided, numeral 90, and affixed tothe support 50 in the manner discussed previously, numeral 92. The firstelement and the second element of the hook-and-loop fastener structureare engaged to each other to complete the attachment of the enclosedbody to the support, numeral 94.

In the method depicted in FIG. 11, the order of the steps 86, 88, 90,92, and 94 may be altered in any operable manner. For example, the firstand second elements of the hook-and-loop fastener may be engaged to eachother (step 94) before the second element 44 is affixed to the support50 (step 92). The heating 88 may be performed after these steps arecompleted, so that the shrinking of the first body 30 over the enclosedbody may be completed as the last step. Many other variations arepossible to accommodate particular circumstances. The only criticalordering of the steps is that the second body 38 must be affixed to thepreshrunk first region 34 of the first body 30.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described indetail for purposes of illustration, various modifications andenhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except asby the appended claims.

1. A method for forming a structure, comprising the steps of: providinga first body made of a shape-recovering polymeric material havingmaterials properties described by a recovered state and an expandedstate which contracts toward the recovered state upon heating, the firstbody having a first region in the recovered state, and a second regionin the expanded state; thereafter affixing a second body comprising afirst element of a fastener to the first region of the first body;providing a support; affixing a second element of the fastener to thesupport; and thereafter engaging the first element of the fastener andthe second element of the fastener.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of affixing the second body includes the step of providing thesecond body which comprises at least a first element of a hook-and-loopfastener.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing thefirst body includes the step of providing the first body made of amaterial selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin,polyvinylidene fluoride, polychloroprene, polyvinyl chloride,polyethylene terephthalate, silicone rubber, polytetrafluoroethylene,fluorinated ethylene propylene, and ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, including an additional step, performed after thestep of affixing the second body, of heating the first body so that thesecond region contracts toward its recovered state.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the step of providing the first body includes the stepof providing the first body as a hollow tube.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of providing the first body includes the step ofproviding the first body as a hollow tube, and including additionalsteps, after the step of affixing, of positioning the hollow tubeoverlying an enclosed body, and heating the first body so that thesecond region contracts toward its recovered state.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the step of positioning includes the step of providingthe enclosed body comprising at least one wire.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the step of affixing the second body includes the step ofproviding the second body as a first element of a hook-and-loopfastener, and wherein the method further includes the step of adhesivelyaffixing the second element of the fastener to the support, wherein thesecond element of the fastener is a second element of the hook-and-loopfastener.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of providing thefirst body includes the step of providing the first body as a hollowtube, wherein the step of affixing the second body includes the step ofproviding the second body as a first element of a hook-and-loopfastener, and including additional steps, after the step of affixing thesecond body, of positioning the hollow tube overlying an enclosed body,and heating the first body so that the second region contracts towardits recovered state.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofproviding the first body includes the step of providing the first bodywherein the shape-recovering polymeric material has a contraction ratioof at least about 2:1.